No More Pretending X Prophecy Poem

In the hotel room, Kevin sat quietly at the small table beside him.

At this moment, the intelligence gathering and exchange had just ended. They had gained a lot that night, and had a deeper understanding of the situation in this mysterious Village.

However, they still face many challenges, with two main thorny issues remaining:

That mysterious [Coming sound outside.

It exists within as a [Sacrificial Target].

They still had no clue about the [Coming sound], and didn't know what this Resentment outside was.

The villagers, who were unable to leave the Village, had absolutely no information about it, and didn't even know what it was.

The villagers Coming sound can't get in, and the villagers inside can't get out; they are completely isolated from each other.

Analysis reveals that the [Sacrificial Target] is not something that can be easily eliminated, and may not even be resolved by force.

This conclusion is reached because this Secret Realm has existed for nearly three hundred years.

Over the years, Kevin has never believed that no one has tried to solve these problems.

After all, the Village also yearn for freedom, and for people like Bianluoke, the Cage that the Village forms cannot confine them at all.

Whether it was talented individuals from outside the village or those in the Village yearning for liberation, they must have all tried. And the fact that Bianluoke could come up with such a method clearly indicates that someone had used it before.

But the problem still exists today.

Is it because we lack the strength? For hundreds of years, the Village has maintained contact with the Hunter Association. Logically, it's impossible that we can't find someone with enough strength to solve the problem.

Therefore, there must be some core problem that has not yet been discovered, and it cannot be solved simply by force.

If it's because of insufficient force, then clearly Kevin's force is also insufficient.

However, time is running out; there's only one month left.

Kevin even speculated that [the Coming sound] and [the Sacrificial Target] might be the same entity. However, there was no time to delve into it at the moment; the information they had obtained so far had reached its limit.

Fortunately, he now has enough information.

"Bite!"

My phone suddenly received a new text message.

Kevin glanced at the time; it was past midnight, and it was December 1st.

He opened the text message and looked at the Prophecy Poem that had been sent.

[The Saintess atop the tower gazed at the starry sky, and a figure transformed into a shooting star followed the gaze of the Ruby. A blessing was imprinted in the heavens, and the Twin Stars were bound together by Red String.]

Your star has already sunk into the Hourglass, and the time left for us to gaze at each other is running out. Blindly pursuing you, yet never bothering to discern the true meaning of the whispers in your ear.

[This is Cage where a Resentment Giant Snake of resentment is trapped, a place it should not exist. The meteor that fell from the sky, an untimely object from heaven, is a thorn in the Giant Snake's side.]

The Hourglass had run dry, the greedy serpent's eyes were already impatient, Giant Snake gaping maw devoured starlight, and the blade capable of slaying the Giant Snake was already gripped tightly, yet powerless to wield it due to ignorance.

After reading the Prophecy Poem, Kevin frowned, as it seemed to foreshadow a less than optimistic ending.

Based on what he knew about tonight, he deduced in the first paragraph that he had indeed been guided to this place by a wish made by someone else.

The second paragraph is crucial; upon reading it, Kevin's brows furrowed deeply.

He already knew that Melusina had little time left, only a month. This meant that if he didn't see the prophecy, he would do everything in his power to find a way to break the Curse.

But even if she knew now, and told Melusina, she would probably face death with equanimity.

After all, without being able to resolve the Festival and the Curse, Melusina wouldn't risk plunging the entire Village into an Abyss of no return just to save her own life.

The third paragraph contains the most information.

Could the root of the so-called Curse actually be a Giant Snake? Or is it just a symbol? Judging from the context, it most likely refers to some kind of serpentine creature, and the Village's Curse and the resulting Cage are all the serpent's "masterpiece."

Kevin was secretly surprised that he hadn't noticed any relevant clues before.

The initial belief was that the Curse was caused by the villagers' Resentment from overeating the surrounding animals. This view was not only confirmed on the Hunter Association's official website, but also seemed quite reasonable based on what they learned in the Village.

The way the Curse manifested on the villagers seemed to confirm this.

However, the Prophecy Poem told him that they were wrong from the very beginning, starting with the most basic intelligence.

Kevin pondered, could this snake be the one beside Melusina? He quickly shook his head, thinking the possibility was too low.

He was more inclined to believe that Melusina's special status as Saintess was what connected her to all of this.

After all, it's clear that not just anyone can become Saintess and be sacrificed to the "Giant Snake."

The prophecy, centered on Kevin, offers limited information and essentially provides him with a direction to break the deadlock.

The Giant Snake saw him as a thorn in its side, either because of his own special characteristics or because he was too close to Melusina.

Based on the fourth paragraph, the answer seems quite clear: it is precisely because of his unique characteristics.

The meaning of the fourth paragraph is very clear: the Festival is about to begin, but he has not yet found a way to deal with it, Melusina will eventually be sacrificed.

The last sentence indicates that he does indeed possess some special ability, enough to kill this Giant Snake, but he is completely unaware of it.

This explains why the Giant Snake considered him a thorn in its side.

Thus, Melusina's wish becomes clear. What she desires may not be a simple romantic partner, but a hero who can break the Curse and restore the Village's freedom.

This is not a Prince and princess love story, but an adventure romance similar to a hero fighting a dragon.

Kevin deleted the text message, a slight smile appearing on his face, before collapsing heavily onto the bed.

Although many questions remain, there is no doubt that he has found a way to break the deadlock.

[The Coming sound] seems to be the key to breaking the deadlock.

He needs to investigate the existence of this thing in more detail.

It seems he will have to go out tomorrow.

The next morning, Kevin prepared the necessary supplies early.

"Are you really going alone?" Buhaci looked at Kevin, a hint of worry in his eyes.

Early in the morning, Kevin told everyone that he planned to go alone outside the Secret Realm and follow the guidance of the [Coming sound] to find out the truth.

"Yes, it's easier for me to act alone. Too many people would make me too conspicuous and easy to spot. I'm more flexible going alone. Even if I encounter danger, I'm confident I can escape," Kevin explained.

Buhaci had to admit that Kevin was right.

Kevin is the strongest member of the team, but going in the direction of the [Coming sound] is bound to be risky.

If a large group goes together, it would be difficult to escape unscathed if danger were to occur.

But if Kevin went alone, given his abilities, if he ran with all his might, no one might be able to catch him.

This operation is not a hunt, but more like a reconnaissance mission, and Kevin, who is good at fighting and running, is best suited to go alone.

"Alright, then be careful," Xiahara said helplessly.

"What about the Saintess— " Men Qi reminded her.

"Could you explain this to me?" Kevin said, then walked out the door.

Then he saw Lorraine pushing Melusina towards him.

Melusina noticed Kevin's attire, stared at him, and asked with a hint of regret in her eyes, "Are you going out?"

Kevin nodded. "There's something very important I need to take care of."

Are you alone?

"It's more convenient to act alone."

Hearing this, a hint of worry flashed in Melusina's eyes, but she knew she couldn't dissuade Kevin, so she beckoned to him. Kevin stepped forward and half-knelt in front of Melusina. Melusina reached out and gently hugged Kevin, whispering in his ear, "Do you... do you like me?"

"Yes, I like it," Kevin replied softly.

In an instant, the pink aura flowed from Melusina's hands into Kevin's body.

The energy did not have an immediate effect, but instead remained quietly within his body.

"Can this ability be used like this?" Kevin was secretly surprised. He had experienced it once before, so it wasn't unexpected.

But the fact that it could remain inside his body without activating was something he hadn't expected.

"This is Gift, of course you have to open Gift to see what's inside," Melusina said with a grin.

Kevin nodded in sudden realization. "So if I take it apart, Chairman I grow wings?"

However, Melusina shook her head. "Gift are meant to bring surprises, so we don't know what they are yet."

Kevin understood that there was some randomness involved, but it was probably pseudo-random, with the contents of the Gift likely determined by certain conditions.

"But the Gift must be something that suits your taste," Melusina added.

After saying goodbye to Melusina, Kevin quickly left the Village.

His purpose for this trip was very clear: he wanted to follow the sounds he heard to find out what [Little Black] really was.

Along the way, Kevin moved quickly while pondering the contents of the Prophecy Poem.

The poem mentions that the Giant Snake shouldn't exist here, but what exactly does "this place" refer to?

Is it this Village, this continent, or the whole world?

This description is too vague to make a judgment.

Recalling the crisis they had encountered before, the Crow and the Griffin, and the god the Crow spoke of, it was undoubtedly a powerful being.

He had always believed that this deity was [Coming sound], especially after the sudden crisis he encountered during his first hunt, which made him even more convinced of this.

But now it seems that perhaps he was wrong.

If we change our perspective and completely overturn our previous ideas...

Could the dark shadow formed by the [Coming sound] sound be a warning to myself?

The first time, a dark figure suddenly appeared on their way back, drove them out of the forest, and then left them alone.

Is it possible that the Giant Snake was preparing to attack, but [the Coming sound] gave them a warning beforehand, allowing them to escape unscathed?

The second time, on Hunting Day, a dark figure appeared first. Kevin wasn't outside at the time, so he couldn't hear it. After a while, other monsters appeared and launched an attack.

Moreover, the targets of the attack were quite interesting. One was a nearby villager who was captured, covered in tentacles, and fell unconscious on the spot. He also suffered multiple fractures afterward.

The other target was Saintess Melusina, who had been snatched from the crowd by a monster. Fortunately, Kevin arrived in time to rescue Melusina, and she was unharmed.

Did the Giant Snake not intend to harm Melusina, but instead take her away to protect her before launching its full-scale attack?

Judging from the Prophecy Poem, perhaps the Giant Snake was more worried that Kevin would harm the Saintess.

The third attack was even more direct; although the dark figure did not appear, the whispers in his ear were unusually intense.

Judging from the presence of intelligent beings among the attackers sent this time, [Coming sound] should not be with them.

Kevin should have noticed this at the time, because the [Coming sound] sound kept getting louder and louder, as if it were a signal.

Unfortunately, they didn't realize this at the time, mistakenly equating the [Coming sound] with the attacker.

It now appears that [Coming sound]'s purpose is still unclear, while [Giant Snake] seems to be able to control the creatures in the Secret Realm.

However, the [Giant Snake]'s control over creatures seems to have certain limitations; otherwise, it wouldn't have sent out creatures one by one in the first two attacks, but instead launched a large-scale attack.

The third attack, and only at the very end, involved sending out two highly skilled attackers.

Under normal circumstances, the combination of these two is sufficient to solve most problems.

Unfortunately, she ran into Kevin.

Kevin kept walking, and the sounds around him grew louder and louder.

Two days later, he arrived at the foot of a mountain.

This mountain is not much different from the surrounding forests, except that the trees on it are sparse and it looks somewhat bare.

At this moment, the sounds around me became more frequent.

"Roar!"

A monster resembling a tiger suddenly appeared. Unlike the tiger, this monster had a pair of horns on its head and was extremely large, about the size of a camel, though not as large as an elephant.

"Don't block the way."

Kevin acted swiftly, charging straight at the monster and throwing a punch.

With a loud bang, the camel-sized Horned Tiger was sent flying, crashing through a grove of trees before falling silent.

"If you want to attack me, then send your Phantom Beast, if you still have any," Kevin shouted.

It's much better for the Phantom Beast beasts to come to you on their own than for you to search for them yourself.

He wasn't scared at all; he was even somewhat looking forward to it.

The sounds around me immediately subsided after the battle ended.

As expected, my previous assumptions might have been wrong.

This also proves from another perspective that the [Coming sound] is indeed formed from Resentment, lacking autonomous wisdom, and is merely a procedural instinctive reaction.

Kevin sighed helplessly, pondering as he continued climbing up the mountain following the sound.

Upon reaching the summit, he easily located the source of the sound—a cave.

Kevin first used his Nen Aura to conduct a thorough scan of the cave, confirming that the source of the Resentment was inside.

Kevin was all too familiar with Resentment.

He carefully used his Nen Aura to form a defensive layer around his body, and then slowly walked into the cave.

It might be difficult for others to do this, but Kevin has an extremely strong ability to distinguish and resist Resentment. It is not easy for any post-mortem Nen to affect him.

Upon entering the cave, Kevin discovered traces of past human habitation, though it had been over a century.

Perhaps due to the influence of Resentment, the entire cave was unusually cold and damp, yet remarkably clean, with not even a trace of spiders or insects.

Kevin walked all the way to the bottom of the cave and saw a skeleton. The flesh and clothing on the skeleton had long since weathered away, but the Resentment did not come from the skeleton.

Could this be the prototype for [Little Black]?

Why hasn't the other person come out?

He crouched down and began to examine it carefully.

The only noteworthy feature inside the cave is a small cave next to the main structure, which seems to hide something, and it is this place that is the source of the Resentment.

Kevin picked up a few sticks and carefully pulled out the contents, which turned out to be an unidentified Metal Box.

The box was about the size of a head, wrapped in bandages that had turned yellow, but the God Text was engraved on it, and one could still clearly see the Nen Aura emanating from it.

"This Nen Aura can actually last this long?"

Kevin was astonished. Although he didn't know how long this person had been dead, it was definitely more than a hundred years ago, perhaps around the time the Curse first appeared, which was nearly three hundred years ago.

Such a long time has passed, yet there are still traces of Nen Aura remaining on it, and it's not post-mortem Nen. How terrifying must the deceased have been in life?

Kevin carefully checked the area and, after confirming there was no danger, gently removed the bandage.

The Metal Box was made of an unknown material. He tried to release his Nen Aura and gently touch the box.

The box lid opened automatically, releasing a dark, Resentment, but it had no effect on Kevin.

These Resentment seem harmless.

Inside the box, the source of the Resentment was a book, or more accurately, a Notebook.

Kevin used his Nen Aura to protect his hand and gently touched it.

The moment it was touched, the post-mortem Nen was activated.

"Dream on."

Kevin immediately channeled his Nen Aura to counter it.

He didn't force his way in; he simply slowed the spread of the lingering post-mortem Nen, wanting to see what the Resentment in the Record Book really meant.

Transmitting information?

This Resentment seems to be trying to convey a message?

Looks like I'll have to tough it out myself.

Holding the Syringe ready, Kevin slightly loosened the obstruction, and information instantly flooded into his mind.